DAMSELS UNDER GLASS: THE SERIES
			Naomi's Story — by Doush  Chapter 3

Naomi had no idea how long she had lain in the “packing contour” trying to come up with who or why she had been kidnapped.  Time had simply lost all meaning.  As far as she was concerned, she could have been sealed in the box for anything between several minutes and a couple of hours.  Naomi even suspected she had nodded off to sleep once or twice, lulled by a vague sense of motion that she suspected was the box being transported by car or van.     

Naomi suspected the way she had been tied wouldn’t have been so bad if only she wasn’t locked into the position by the packing contour.  After all, it wasn’t like she was a stranger to ropes or “bondage”.  She’d had a couple of boyfriends, and even one girlfriend, who had liked to tie her up on a regular basis.  Nothing as stringent as what she was currently enduring obviously, but enough so that she knew what it was like to be genuinely helpless.  

Twitching had become another form of time wasting for her.  Starting with her toes, Naomi had found she could actually move each of her digits and their respective limbs fractionally.  There was obviously no chance of escape— given the way she had been bound into a tight little ball — but at least she was able to relieve a tiny fraction of the musculature tension that had been slowly building.    

The twitching also provided a means of keeping her mind focused on something other than the amount of air left in the small oxygen tank attached to her face.  The little voice that had first put forward the oxygen concern was growing louder by the minute, and Naomi wasn’t sure how much longer she could laugh it off.    

Thankfully, the panic that kind of thinking may well have caused never became an issue, as Naomi was abruptly jarred from her thoughts by the sudden movement of her prison.  She felt the box being lifted and then set down, before being rolled along a relatively smooth surface.   

Her heart began to beat faster.  

Who would open her prison? Would it be someone she recognised or a complete stranger? Her leather-clad captor had said people were waiting for her.  But what people? 

She wasn’t sure she wanted to find out.    

But then she didn’t have any say in the matter.  If nothing else, the cloth filling her mouth made sure of that.  

Light flooded the box as the lid was lifted away.  Very little sound made it through the hard gel, although Naomi could make out certain vibrations that were probably voices in conversation.  Next, she felt, rather than heard, something being poured onto the gel above her head.   

Whatever the liquid was, it worked swiftly.  Within moments, Naomi could move her head from side to side and shake her right arm ever so slightly as the gel around the upper part of her body began to give.  By the time she could wiggle rather than just twitch her toes, Naomi’s upper body was totally free of the gel and only encumbered by the bag she had been zipped into.  She gasped in relief as the last of the gel melted away from the lower half of her body, and tried to crane her head to see who was standing around the box, looking down at her.  

Naomi thought she could make out three figures—one of whom leant forward and unzipped the slimy bag that was still plastered to her naked body.  The bag was then peeled away from her and Naomi was left, totally exposed, shivering and squinting up at her three captors.  

No, scratch that.  Two captors and one other captive: a tightly bound and gagged Brie wearing what seemed to be (of all things) a dark blue lycra body-stocking.  Next, was the woman in black leather; while facing the two, on the opposite side of the box, stood... 

Margo Wells— dressed in a long figure hugging black skirt, white shirt and black boots.     

Had she not been so tightly gagged or sporting an oxygen mask over the lower half of her face, Naomi’s jaw would have dropped open.  The Margo Wells - CEO of TESSERACT and arguably one of the most powerful people on the planet— was somehow involved in her kidnapping.  That fact vied for Naomi’s attention along with the appearance of her best friend in a position similar to her own. 

With her field of vision limited by the box and the position she was lying in, Naomi could only make out that Brie’s hands were tied behind her back and her elbows had been cinched together tightly.  This had the effect of thrusting her large breasts enticingly forward—something made doubly apparent given the skin tight top she was wearing.  Interestingly, Brie’s access card was clipped her right breast— although Naomi couldn’t tell if it was actually attached to her nipple or the fabric of the body-stocking.  In addition, a large proportion of Brie’s face was obscured behind a multi-strapped head harness that served to hold a large rubber ball in her mouth.  Slight specks of drool were slowly pooling at the corner’s of Brie’s mouth and dribbling down her chin.  Finally, she wore a high collar, complete with a set of D-rings, that looked to be a part of the complex ball-harness she was gagged with.  

As Naomi struggled to come to grips with these latest developments, the leather clad woman swiftly bent down, grabbed the straps binding her into a helpless ball, and pulled her bodily from the box.  She was dumped on the floor fairly unceremoniously, and had barely managed to roll onto her side before the woman produced a sharp knife from a concealed pocket of her leather vest  and began severing the straps binding her body into a tight ball.  She then attacked the strap binding her wrists to her ankles, and finally, those binding her ankles and knees.  

Margo held up a hand and said “Enough Kat.” The leather clad woman immediately stepped back, leaving Naomi’s wrists and elbows securely bound and her mouth tightly gagged. 

Naomi took a moment to note that Brie’s ankles were chained together with a set of leg irons and her feet were encased in a pair of four-inch heels that, judging by the silver padlock adorning each shoe, were securely locked in place.  Her casual appraisal over, Naomi gathered her weight beneath her and carefully pushed herself to her feet. 

“Naomi Curtis,” said the CEO of TESSERACT.  “I’m Margo Wells—but I can see you already know that.” She gestured around the large warehouse type enclosure they stood in—one that was empty save for the four women themselves and the box she had been transported in.  In fact, other than the huge set of roller doors that evidently led back outside, Naomi could see no obvious exits from the warehouse.  “Welcome to the biosphere.” 

Strangely, Naomi found she was no longer scared.  There was nothing about Margo’s demeanour that suggested something horrible was about to befall her.  Instead, she felt curious.  Why had Margo gone to all this trouble? 

The answer came to Naomi a split second before Margo spoke. 

The Spherus file she had seen.  

“I’m sorry you had to be brought here like this, but I had to make sure you didn’t decline my invitation.  You see, TESSERACT experienced a level three security breach this afternoon.  And you, my dear, were the one responsible for it.” 

Out of the corner of her eye, Naomi saw Brie bow her head slightly. 

“Well, perhaps I jumped the gun a little with that statement—because at certain levels, you’re an innocent victim here.  And I’m not just talking about the way you were brought here tonight.“  Margo fixed Brie with a hard glare.  “You see Naomi, your friend Brie here...” Margo flicked the bound woman’s access card casually, causing her to wince; “...deliberately allowed you access to her computer this afternoon—for what reason you’ll find out a little later—and she did so knowing full well that you wouldn’t be able to help yourself; that you’d have to look.” 

Naomi frowned and grunted quizzically into her gag. 

“Don’t sound so surprised dear.  Hidden security cameras are standard in virtually all corporate buildings today.  Why should TESSERACT be any different?” Margo smiled without humour.  “Of course, now the question becomes what to do with the two of you.  I can hardly let you go to start spreading vicious rumours concerning what may go on behind TESSERACT’s closed doors, can I Naomi? And Brie, I’m afraid you’re simply going to have to be punished.  Kat here suggested just the thing.” 

Kat leaned in close to Brie’s gagged face and leered: “You’re going to be one very sorry girl, Brie.  And I’m going to be the one to make sure of it.” 

Brie whimpered quietly. 

“Alright Kat, you’ve made your point.  Take Miss Sanchez to receive her punishment.” 

Kat swiftly attached a leather leash to one of the D-rings in her collar and began to “escort” her toward one of the warehouse walls.  Naomi frowned, wondering exactly where they planned to go. 

Margo swiftly answered that question.  

“Eve, be so kind as to open a route from Loading Bay 3 to Chamber 4-B.” 

“Certainly Margo.”  

No sooner had the feminine voice echoed throughout the room, than a crack appeared along the centre of the wall Kat and Brie were moving towards.  Swiftly, the crack widened as half of the wall slid backwards to reveal a sleek corridor of mirrored glass that stretched off as far as the eye could see.  As the two women stepped into the corridor, the wall reversed itself and slid silently closed.  

“Impressive isn’t it?” asked Margo rhetorically.  “The Biosphere and Eve are projects I’ve spent a good proportion of my life working towards and developing.  But they were worth every second.”  

“Thank you Margo,” responded the echoing voice. 

“Eve is a revolutionary Artificial Intelligence I designed to play a key role in the development of Tesseract and run this entire complex - while answering to me, of course.”  

Naomi’s head was almost spinning.  Could all this really be happening? How could she be sure she wasn’t at home dreaming after one too many Tequila Slammers with Brie?  

“But enough chit-chat,” Margo stated abruptly.  “It’s time I took you on a tour of the biosphere.  You’ve much to see before you make your decision.” 

“Hhmpppfff??” 

“Yes, that’s right - your decision.  But we’ll get to that....  for now, we have other things to attend to.” Margo moved alongside Naomi and removed the cloth gag from between her teeth.  Naomi spat out the large wad that had been pressing her tongue down and took a few moments to savour the feeling of being able to swallow and work her jaw. 

“Thank you,” she said huskily.  

“Now, now.  Don’t get too comfortable,” warned Margo.  Naomi looked down to see she had produced a large spongy ball and a roll of white tape from somewhere on her person.  

“Not again.  Please.  I don’t need it.”  

Margo rolled her eyes.  “Complaints, complaints.” She paused for just a moment to meet Naomi’s pleading gaze squarely.  Naomi was mesmerised.  She had never met a woman with such a powerful presence before, and not under circumstances such as these.  “Open,” Margo commanded. 

Naomi did so.  Margo shoved the ball into her mouth as deep as it would go and then used two fingers to push it behind her teeth.  “You must understand Naomi that keeping you naked and bound like this is really for your own good.  There are a number of service ‘bots that roam the corridors of the sphere, and your biometric profile isn’t in their security files...yet.  If they saw you, a stranger, wandering around fully clothed, they might classify you as an ‘intruder’.  Eve might be busy elsewhere and unable to correct the error.  That could be bad for you...  Very bad.  Now, lips together.”  

Naomi pursed her lips, and Margo quickly tore off three pieces of the white tape and smoothed them across her mouth.  “As for the gag? Well, that’s just personal preference on my behalf.  I like all my first time visitors gagged—it means I don’t have to answer any questions until the end of the tour.”  

Margo cast an appraising eye over Naomi’s naked body.  “And I must say, you’re one of the finest women I’ve had the pleasure of escorting on this particular tour.”  

Naomi shivered underneath Margo’s piercing gaze.  Now she knew this had to be a dream.  If Margo Wells was hitting on her, things were just way beyond any semblance of reality.  

“Shall we go?”  

Naomi shrugged mutely and allowed Margo to grasp her arm firmly, but gently, and lead her toward the same wall Brie and Kat had disappeared “through” a few minutes ago.  

“Eve.” 

“Yes Margo.” 

The wall again cracked open, and half slid aside before them.  Without hesitation, Margo led the way into the heart of the biosphere. 

Naomi suddenly realised all of her questions about the sphere were about to be answered. 

Understandably, it was not quite the exhilarating thought she had envisioned it to be.